


Of Greatest Need

by Samuraiter



Category: Fate/stay night - All Media Types, Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works (Anime 2014)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Fix-It, Multi, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-10
Updated: 2016-01-10
Packaged: 2018-05-13 02:06:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5690485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Samuraiter/pseuds/Samuraiter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The ideal of a hero requires the guidance of a hero ... and more.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Of Greatest Need

**Author's Note:**

  * For [failsafe](https://archiveofourown.org/users/failsafe/gifts).



> This comes from canon as presented in the anime, though I have played the original game.

"I hope that you're ready for this, Shirō," said Rin, her breath misting as it hit the cold air, "because I'm not feeling too confident about this. There might've been a ley line here at one point, but I can barely feel anything from it now." She rubbed her hands together to try and stave off the numbness in her fingers. "And this whole thing has been a wild goose chase from the beginning. But that's just my opinion, and since when do you ever take _that_ into account at times like these?"

"I know it seems silly," Shirō replied, pacing the length of the cave, "but, if there's one thing I've learned since the Holy Grail War, it's that things that seem like hunches to me might actually be my ability trying to tell me something, and it's telling me something here." He looked down at the floor, as if able to see through it. "It's telling me that this isn't really a ley line. It's the remains of a very old spell, and it's not as decayed as you might think it is." He grinned. "Remember what you and I have read over and over again in all of those old books about this?"

"Yes, yes," Rin said, sighing, "in the hour of greatest need, King Arthur shall return. And, according to _you_ , that goes above and beyond anything having to do with Heroic Spirits, the Holy Grail, and all of that. You think there's always been a way to bring Saber back for real, and the Grail was interfering with that. So, now that the system's been shut down –" She leaned against one of the walls of the cave, looking up at the low ceiling. "– there shouldn't be any interference."

"That's right," Shirō said, stopping at the far end of the chamber. "And ... here. I'm pretty sure this is the spot." He took a deep breath, summoning up his magic. "Trace on." And he visualized the spell, running along the paths of it, as if using his feet to trace the runes inside his head. "And it's not ... the mana. This is Britain. The entire land is full of the stuff." He reached the end of the spell. "It's just knowing where to go and what to do, like it's been waiting for my ability all this time." He opened his eyes and turned back to Rin. "I think she's here."

"She is," Rin said, and the way her voice broke told Shirō he was correct. "Right here in front of me." A small laugh. "Aren't you going to say hello, Saber?"

"Forgive me. I am not here as Saber, not this time." It had been most of a decade since they had heard that voice. "I am here as myself. Please call me Arturia." A soft _hmph_ , the closest she came to a laugh. "I believe that the two of you, of all people, can dispense with my title. It is good to see you both again." And Rin gave her a hug. "Though ... it feels like it has not been as long as it has."

"What's seven or eight years –" Shirō joined them in the hug. "– when you've been waiting for almost two millennia, really?" He felt a sense of completeness, perhaps his ability telling him that he had, in fact, summoned the true King Arthur back into being. Or it might simply have been his heart telling that he had brought back a person who had been a friend – more than a friend, truth be told – to both him and Rin at a time when both of them had needed her in their lives.

"I appreciate the pleasantries, Shirō," Saber said as they all separated again, "but, if this is your hour of greatest need, I must ask you this: How far down the path of Archer have you walked?" Silence as he digested that question, averting his eyes from her face. "Because, if that life is still a possibility for you, I need to know if it can still be averted. If it can, that is why I have been allowed to return."

"There's no fear of that," Rin replied, "isn't that right, Shirō?" But he did not answer immediately. "He's been here with me in England, continuing his studies, becoming a Magus. Yes, we've seen all kinds of things around the world where a hero could've changed everything, but –" A deep breath. "– we know how that story ends, and we've done all we can to not make that ultimate choice."

"It's always a fear, Rin," Shirō said, his voice soft, "always. Every time one of those situations came up, I wanted to go, to be there. With your help, I was able to ... not give in." For once, he looked old beyond his years. "I'm not saying that you're no longer enough. I still need you, more than ever. But the world's getting worse, and the call's getting stronger. That means ... I need Arturia." He looked deep into her eyes. "And so do you. It's _your_ need that brought her here."

Saber nodded. "Neither of you alone could have brought me forth, but ... both of you together can." She turned to look at Rin. "And it is true that your heart has always been open to me, Rin, regardless of whether or not you served as my Master, but you and I are here together as equals, not as Master and Servant." Her tone softened. "I might be here to help prevent Shirō from making the choice to become Archer, but I am also here because both of you expressed a need."

"It's because we love you, Saber," Rin blurted, her emotions showing clearly on her face, "and ... letting you go has never felt like the right thing to have done, even if we both knew it was something that had to happen and couldn't be changed –" She balled her hands into fists. "– until now, at least."

"Such children," Saber admonished, "unwilling to let a sacrifice be a sacrifice, but that –" She gathered both of them close again. "– is one reason why I accepted your call, why I waited for it. Because ... I am the same way. It has always been a fault of mine." She shook her head. "But this is a chance to turn it into a strength. I shall continue to guide you." She looked down at her hands. "Though ... I am again flesh and blood this time. I lack the sheer might of a Heroic Spirit."

"But you're still you, Arturia," Shirō said, "and there's nothing the three of us together can't do." He laughed. "Maybe you're not perfect, but you're better than me at almost everything, and that'll help." He looked at Rin again. "Won't it?"

"It will," Rin said, nodding, "so let's leave this tomb and go back to the estate." They separated again. "Have you ever had hot chocolate, Saber?"

"Arturia, please," Saber corrected, "and no. I'd love to have some."

Shirō added, "I'll make sure to put in the marshmallows." And, as they departed the cave, it seemed like the three of them were any three young people sharing a deep and lasting bond, not two Magi and the Once and Future King.

**END**.


End file.
